Culling Season
by clockworksharks
Summary: post QoS. Bond reunites with an old co-worker to infiltrate a rising terrorist group out of Austria. I will write a better summary...eventually. Rating and title are subject to change.
1. I

**Author's Note: **This started out as an experiment and quickly developed into something deeper. Bond is reunited with an old co-worker to infiltrate a terrorist organization that is rising out of Austria. My first stab at a Bond fic, so critique is definitely going to be needed, please review! So far I own nothing save the character Adrianna Greene.

--

_The sand crunched beneath their feet as they halted, several paces away from the vehicle. The desert sun glared in their eyes and they turned to face one another, guns held at their sides._

"_You know, I always knew you'd never trust me. It's funny though, I never thought there would be a time when I couldn't trust you."_

"_Well now," he smiled. "I'm just full of surprises aren't I?"_

"_You never cease to amaze me, that's for sure." _

_They paused for a moment, they eyes locked and they shared a smile._

"_You know what to do?" He asked._

_She nodded. She reached out and touched his arm._

"_Goodbye James." She whispered._

"_Goodbye Greene."_

_And with that, he flicked back the trigger and pointed the barrel of his gun directly to his chest. _

**--**

**I.**

"I'm sorry. You did what?"

From across the table, M shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had known this wasn't going to be easy. She sighed, picked up a glass tumbler, filled it with whiskey and slid it across the table towards Bond.

"I promoted her to double O status."

"You mean to tell me," Bond said as he shot back the sour whiskey and slammed the tumbler down on the table. "That you gave that incompetent young girl one of the highest ranking statuses in M16?"

"At age 27, I'd hardly refer to her as a young girl. Young woman would be the proper term." M glared at Bond and tapped her fingers on the hard oak. He always made things so bloody complicated.

"Besides," she continued. "What makes you think she is so incompetent anyways?"

"It's not so much that she's incompetent," Bond snapped back. "As opposed to wildly temperamental, indecisive, erratic and bloody manic!"

"Good heavens Bond." M said, her voice rising along with her temper. "You haven't worked with her in 3 years. She has changed considerably."

"May I remind you," Bond said, through gritted teeth as his blue eyes flashed towards M. "That when you found this half Irish, half Italian brat, she was working as a low rent hit man for the bloody mafia?"

"May I remind you," M retorted loudly as she stood to her feet. "That she has been a member of this agency for nearly nine years? And she is damn good at her job. Her promotion was well deserved."

M sighed heavily and sat back down.

"Listen, Bond. I know you don't trust her. Hell, I know you don't trust anyone. But she's not so much different from when you were first promoted to double O."

"The first time her and I ever worked together," Bond said, choosing to ignore M's last remark. "She nearly compromised the entire mission by shooting up a restaurant and blowing up a boat."

"I am well aware of that James." M replied coolly. "However—"

"Wait a minute." Bond cut in. "Why are you telling me all this anyways? What does it have to do with you calling me here?"

He shot her a suspicious glance as he reached for the whiskey.

"Actually, it is precisely the reason I've called you here. For the past month she has been investigating Hugh Clancy as a possible connection to the Falcon case."

"Hugh Clancy." Bond frowned. "That rich prat. What does he have to do with Falcon?"

"His step brother is Trent Fargo. Apparently they have a close relationship."

"Well that is all very interesting." Bond said sarcastically. "But what exactly does it have to do with me?"

"I'm putting you on the case." M stated simply. Bond opened his mouth to say something but M cut him off to the chase.

"And Agent 009 is going to be your partner."

--

On a crowed beach in the South of France, Adrianna Greene was sprawled out on a white towel, basking in the warm rays of the sun. She sighed blissfully and stretched, revealing her flat, toned stomach and black dolce and gabbana bikini. Her long, brown hair was damp and twisted from the ocean water. She rolled over onto her stomach and placed her face in her hands, closing her eyes while breathing in the salty scent of the sea.

"So, is this how double O's celebrate their status these days? Lolling about on the beach on holidays?"

Her eyes snapped open. There, standing in front of her, blocking her sun stood one of the last people she had expected to see. He stood with his hands shoved in his Armani trouser pockets and although they were hidden behind dark sunglasses, she knew quite well that those steel blue eyes were now staring down at her with arrogance.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Or is that the ever-sarcastic James Bond depriving me from well deserved sun?"

"Hello Greene."

She pulled the rims of her sunglasses down to get a better look at him. He was still in terribly good shape and his muscular arms were well tanned from the sun.

"Never really took you for the beach type Bond. But then again, I haven't spoken to you in what, three years? I guess things change." Her pink lips curved upwards in a sultry smile.

"Good to know you've still got your sense of humor." He replied and sat down next to her, shoving her half off of her towel. "Make room, will you?"

Adrianna rolled her eyes. "Alright Bond. What is it you want? And you had better not say a booty call, because your about three years to late."

James laughed. "M hasn't told you yet? Oh well now, this is just to much."

"M hasn't told me what?" She frowned.

"About your new partner." He smirked, waiting for her reaction.

"You cannot be serious." She shot him a look.

"Wish I wasn't Greene." James sighed, placed his hands on the sand behind him and kicked one leg over the other. "You can call and ask her if you like." He tossed her his blackberry.

"I intend to." She replied coldly, and dialed a number.

"009 here." She said currently into the phone. "I need to speak with M. Yes, now."

As Adrianna waited impatiently on the line, James took the opportunity to examine her more closely. Her hair was still long and brown like the last time he had seen her. Her body, still ravishingly exquisite to behold with her olive skin she had no doubt inherited from her Italian roots. Next he focused on her face; smooth of all imperfections except a few freckles and a small scar. Her lips were full and soft looking and James noticed how she bit on them with her teeth as her impatience grew. Her green eyes were close to the only hint of her Irish inheritance, that of course, and as James knew, her temper.

Finally, M came on the line and Adrianna began to rapidly converse with her. James yawned and removed his sunglasses. He watched with mild interest as a couple splashed together in the waves not to far off. A sudden flash back from the previous year of a similar situation entered his mind. He quickly shoved it away and out of his thoughts and returned his attention to Adrianna who was now hitting the 'end' button on his blackberry.

"All filled in then?" James asked with mock cheeriness.

"Unfortunately yes." Adrianna said airily. "I suppose this means my vacation will have to end early?"

"Quite frankly, yes." Bond replied, getting to his feet. "Our plane leaves first thing in the morning. Your friend Hugh Clancy is throwing a party in Austria tomorrow evening, which we need to be present for. I'm staying at a different hotel so we can just meet up at the airport around six."

"That's it?" Adrianna raised her eyebrows at him.

"Well, yes." Bond replied, a little confused. "I didn't leave anything out, did I?"

"Well," Adrianna said, standing up to join him. "We haven't seen each other in three years. I figured since now we're being forced to work together we should do a bit of catching up."

"Catching up?" Bond repeated.

"Dinner and drinks." She smiled, folding her arms. "My hotel, say around 8 o'clock? You still look good in a suit, don't you?"

"Well, yes I—" Bond spluttered.

"Excellent." She cut in. "See you then."

And with that, she picked up her towel, turned and walked away down the beach. Bond watched her go, still slightly dumbfounded.

"Dinner and drinks." He muttered, shaking his head with amusement. "And here I was expecting a slap across the face."

--

He found her seated at the hotel bar shortly after 8 o'clock. She was dressed head to toe in black, which he found as no surprise. She was sporting knee high, expensive looking boots, which Bond guessed to be a courtesy of her new double O paycheck. The boots were pared with black pants, an embellished belt, a slinky black top and a metallic necklace. She looked undeniably stunning. Bond cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.

"Oh there you are." She said as she turned to notice him. "I was wondering if you were going to stand me up," she paused and smirked. "Again."

"Spare me the guilt trip." Bond rolled his eyes and took a seat next to her.

"Excuse me, Bartender? Martini. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel, please." He added the 'please' as an afterthought. The bartender looked slightly flustered as he began to scribble down the order.

"And for you Madame?"

Adrianna raised her eyebrows at Bond and then turned to the bartender.

"Ahh, yes let's see here. Make mine a Long Island Ice Tea with 1/2 oz Absolut Citron vodka, remember it has to be Citron, ½ oz of Limon rum, ¼ oz of Tequila, one oz of gin, ½ oz of orange liquor and to top it off, a little bit of coca-cola."

Bond stared at her.

"What?" She asked, frowning.

"Where did you learn how to drink like that?" He asked in bewilderment.

She shrugged. "Amsterdam."

Bond shook his head. The bartender arrived a few moments later with their drinks.

"Excellent." Adrianna smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Not bad." Bond said in a monotone, nodding curtly at the bartender who shuffled off.

"So," He said, a smirk crawling to his lips. "Tell me about your new boyfriend."

Adrianna snorted. "Boyfriend?"

"Clancy of course."

"Oh, Hugh? Not my boyfriend. More like he wants to be my boyfriend, but I'm just pretending to like him so I can get information about his step brother off of him."

"Have you slept with him?" Bond asked, his curiosity got the better of his courtesy.

"Who? Clancy or the step brother?" Adrianna smirked.

Bond stared at her.

Adrianna rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding. You're not the only one who can make jokes you know."

"My apologizes. You didn't answer my question though." He raised his eyebrow at her over the rim of his martini glass.

"I've been seeing Clancy for a month. And for your information, no I haven't." She said defiantly.

"Huh." Bond said vaguely.

"And exactly is that supposed to mean?" She glared at him and pulled out a nail file from her purse.

"Oh nothing at all. I was just thinking about, well never mind." Bond's smirk magnified.

"Don't go there Bond." She warned. "Or I'll make you pick up the check for dinner. Come on, I'm starved. Grab your drink and let's sit at that table over there."

She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him over to a small, quite table in the back of the bar. She slid into her chair and surveyed him closely as he scrutinized the menu.

"The lamb is excellent." She said vaguely. "You still like lamb, don't you?"

"Lost my taste for it I'm afraid." James replied, taking a long sip from his drink. He started at her from over his menu. Being re-united with Adrianna Greene was nerve racking at the very least. He was just waiting for the moment when she slammed her drink down hard on the table, jumped up and began to scream at him for being such a horrible bastard. But so far, aside from a few quips, she had been fairly polite, extruding an almost pleasant and friendly manor. Which made James all the more on edge.

"I think I'll have the roast duck." He said promptly to the waiter. "And perhaps the squash soup as an entrée."

"Very well sir. And for you Madame?"

"Chicken Alfredo please with potatoes. And we'll also get a bottle of pinot." She smiled at him pleasantly before he whisked away with their menus.

"So, James." She turned her green eyes on him. "I heard all about your escapades at Casino Royale."

James cleared his throat. "Yes, well. Not bad for my first mission as double O I suppose."

"You suppose?" She laughed. "They speak it as legendary back at HQ. Is it true you were poisoned?"

"Yes." James replied, wanting very much for the subject to get off his past escapades. Especially in case the topic of Vesper was broached, he was not ready to head down that path just yet. The waiter returned with their meals, and they both dug in.

"Hmm. I only wish my first task could have been so thrilling." Adrianna sighed wistfully as she played with her necklace absently.

"What could be more thrilling then posing as a love interest for a very wealthy man?" James chuckled.

She shot daggers at him from across the table.

"You don't have to rub it in James."

"Sorry." He smirked. "Well, what's the diagnosis?"

"He's a good man." Adrianna replied honestly. "Rich, very polite, kind, well connected, a fabulous kisser."

James choked on a piece of his duck.

"What?" Adrianna frowned.

"Oh nothing." James laughed. "It's just amusing that I am thrown into near life situations, exploding buildings, dangerous and reckless terrorists, and endless amounts of physical and emotional stress, while you are locking lips with rich business men. And by the end of the day, the numbers on are checks are the same."

Adrianna's fork clattered on her plate.

"Really, was that necessary?"

"I was just making a point." James said innocently.

"It's not like that's what I want to be doing. We all know where my real talent lies."

"In the bedroom?" James mused.

"Now you're just being an asshole." Adrianna smiled tightly.

"Forgive me. Please continue."

"What I mean to say," Adrianna continued, rolling her eyes. "Is I would much rather be running through exploding buildings chasing after ruthless criminals but I'm posted where I'm posted, and that's that. No use arguing, right?"

"Oh but I'm sure you did argue, didn't you?"

"Weather I did or not is not a concern." She smiled. "More wine?"

The dinner continued, more or less with the two going back and forth with snide remarks and comments, all in a friendly demeanor of course. After the check was paid for, Adrianna walked James to the front lobby of her hotel.

"Well, Austria tomorrow." She said cheerfully.

"Yes." James replied, staring at her curiously. He was still unsure of what to make of the evening.

"Lovely to see you again." She said pleasantly, and reached for his hand and shook it.

"Likewise." He replied thoughtfully.

And with that, she turned on her heel and waltzed off towards the elevator. James watched her go and shrugged before turning himself towards the main doors.

"Women." He thought aloud. "Such temperamental beings."

- **Please Review - **


	2. II

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! So just a few things I would like to point out for this chapter, I realized after a review on my previous chapter pointed out that Adrianna shares the same last name as Dominic Greene, HOWEVER, I totally forgot all about that so they have no relation in this story. Haha also I do realize I sort of left a lot of loose ends where Quantum is involved, but once I get further into the story I'll sort that all out. Also in the next few chapters I will explain a lot more about what Falcon is, the case and bit of insight to James and Adrianna's past. I hope you enjoy it! Please review, I appreciate all the feedback I can get. It means a lot!

**II.**

James stood in the small private airplane terminal, sipping his coffee and adjusting his black sports sunglasses. He was dressed in a casual white polo and black pants. He leaned against his single dark leather suitcase and glanced up at the clock on the wall. 6:01 am. Late, as usual, he thought to himself. From behind him, loud footsteps and the rolling of a suitcase caused him to turn.

"Sorry." Adrianna said dismissively as she wheeled her suitcases up to him. "Had a spot of trouble getting through regulations. Let's board, shall we?"

She looked all together flustered and red in the face, as if she had been running for several minutes.

"Have you had your morning coffee yet?" James frowned.

She glared at him and began dragging her suitcases towards the stewardess.

--

Fifteen minutes later, they were seated on their comfortable, private jet, airborne for Austria. After ordering martinis, or in Adrianna's case, a double shot of espresso, the two settled down into their seats for the flight.

"Let's get our story straight now, shall we?" James said.

"Right." She replied, running a hand absently through her dark hair. "You're an old friend of my brother's. I'm taking you on holiday with me to Austria, before we eventually meet up with him in Germany. Your name is—"

"James Bond." He cut in.

Adrianna sighed exasperatedly. "No James. M has insisted that you use a cover name. Put your arrogance aside for five minutes."

"Fine." James grumbled. "But it better not be anything stupid."

"You are Walter Clearwater. You, and my fictional brother Charlie, both attended Oxford together. You were classmates and soon became good friends. Your profession is journalism, but you also studied law. You and I have a strictly friendship only relationship, because I am supposed to be romancing Hugh."

"Now, where is the fun in any of that?" James smirked.

She rolled her eyes and pulled out a magazine from the seat pocket.

"Just deal with it. And get used to responding to Walter. And keep in mind that Hugh thinks I am an art director of a gallery."

"Yes, dear." He said mockingly.

"Friendship only." She said sternly. "Also, when we land we'll be meeting up with one of our agents who is posted in Austria."

James was mildly surprised. He was unaware there was to be a third party member.

"Her name is Elizabeth Connelly." Adrianna continued. "She'll be posing as a hotel worker in case we have any trouble. But we'll be acting as if we don't know her. I'll point her out to you once we arrive."

"Interesting." James replied.

"She's blonde. I'm sure you'll like her."

James noticed that she had raised an eyebrow from behind her magazine, and he was sure she was smirking.

"Blonde you say?" He grinned, and stretched his arms above his seat. "Shame. I usually prefer brunettes."

Adrianna did not reply, but James was certain that from under that magazine she was hiding a smile.

--

An hour or so later, the plane landed and the pair of double O's hailed a cab to take them to the posh hotel where Hugh Clancy's party was to take place that evening. James had always liked Vienna; it was a classic city full of beauty. The cab pulled up in front of the ritzy Hotel Les Etoiles.

"Not bad." James remarked as the bus boys came hurrying up to retrieve their luggage.

"Ah yes." Adrianna yawned and stretched her arms. "These ones go to suite 24, and those ones go to suite 28."

"Four rooms apart?" James grumbled.

"I told you, Walter," Adrianna pressed her lips into a very thin line. "We're dear old _friends_."

"Friends can still have sleepovers." James winked cheekily and waltzed through the front doors and up to the desk.

"Walter Clearwater." He announced loudly to the woman at the desk. "And this is my dear old friend, Miss Adrianna Greene."

"But of course." The woman replied in a German accent. "Welcome back Ms. Greene. Here are your keys."

"Thank you Penelope."

James rolled his eyes at Adrianna before grabbing his key and marching towards the elevator. Adrianna hurried to keep pace with him.

"Now listen carefully Bond." She hissed in his ear as he jabbed at the elevator button. "We can't afford to have any of your antics this time around, alright?"

"My antics?" James scoffed. "May I remind you about that night in Switzerland?"

"Oh shut it." Adrianna scowled at him and folded her arms.

"You know, you do look devilishly cute when you're pissed." James said smugly.

She glared at him. "Are you looking for a black eye?"

The elevator doors dinged open on the 12th floor and they stepped out into the lavish hallway.

"Your room," Adrianna said and pointed down the hall. "Is that way. And mine is in the opposite direction. Now, I'll meet you in a few hours for lunch. We need to make contact with Elizabeth and go over the plan for this evening."

"Sounds marvelous." James said with mock sweetness.

"Try to stay out of trouble!" She called after him as he swung on his heel and headed off towards his room.

The suite that had been provided for Bond was decked out in rich deep reds and high ceilings, complete with a king size bed, walk in shower, fireplace and a hot tub on the balcony. The first thing James did was immediately call room service and order a fine bottle of scotch to his room. Then he kicked off his shoes and lay back on the couch to call M.

"Hello Bond."

"Just calling to see if you miss me yet." James chuckled.

"Not in the slightest." Came her curt reply, but he could tell she was suppressing an annoyed grin. "What's the status report?"

"All's well in Austria." James replied. "We've just checked in. But I'm sure you knew that, you still have that tracker on me after all, don't you?"

"Certainly. We can't afford any of your antics to compromise this case."

"Funny you're not the first one to comment on my antics today. Now why is that?" James sighed.

"Don't even get me started on any of your past stunts 007." M said exasperatedly through the other end of the line. "Just keep your head level on this one Bond. Don't make any rash decisions that could fuck things up."

"Yes M'am."

He hung up the phone. There was a knock at the door.

"Ah excellent. The scotch has arrived."

--

Several hours, and a few glasses of scotch later, James was dressed and heading downstairs to meet Adrianna for lunch. Her found her already seated at a booth in the corner.

"You look stunning my dear." He said as he slid into the booth.

"Look," she hissed, holding her menu up to shield her mouth. "You can't just go on calling me dear. Refer to me as sis, or something."

"But that would be wrong on many levels." James grinned and picked up his menu.

"So, where is she?" He asked.

Adrianna craned her neck slightly so she could see over James' shoulder.

"She's the one seating people up at the front. Blonde hair pulled back in a braid." She said quietly and went back to looking at her menu.

"I've already approached her with the code. So she knows who we are."

"But I haven't formally introduced myself yet." James muttered, surveying the blonde with keen interest.

"Forget about it will you?" Adrianna slapped his hand. "Wait until tonight when there is more people around if you must hit on her. We can't draw attention to her with us in the open."

"You really do intend to squash all the fun out of this trip, don't you?" James mused, his eyes still following the blonde, who looked up and made eye contact with him. He smiled and winked at her. She immediately turned away, but James noticed her smiling.

"Stop that!" Adrianna hissed. "You are unbelievable."

"You aren't jealous, are you?" He laughed. Before she could retort he coughed. "Ahh yes, and here's the waiter."

They ordered lunch and briefly went over the way the night was to go down. Adrianna would be busy working the room; she would introduce James to Hugh. Elizabeth would then approach them all with drinks, and carefully slip James the key to Hugh's private offices. Then, about twenty minutes later, Elizabeth would arrange for Hugh to be called down to the front desk to take a phone call. This would by James a good ten minutes where Hugh would be guaranteed not to notice him slip off so he could search infiltrate the office and look for any letters, emails, faxes or anything from Trent Fargo that might lead to his location.

As soon as he had found what he was looking for, he was to send the information directly back to headquarters and then return to the party, under the pretense of having gone upstairs to look for his watch.

"I can keep Hugh distracted for the evening, don't worry about that. Just worry about making sure you don't get caught on the security cameras." Adrianna had said to him before the parted again to prepare for the party.

James wasted away the afternoon by going to the Hotel's gym to work out for a bit. He caught the eye of several female gym assistants but decided to pass on making any efforts. Women were just women after all. After a vigorous workout and a couple laps in the pool, he headed back upstairs. He ordered a room service dinner and then opened his suitcase. It was time to choose the suit.

"So who is going to be my best friend tonight?" He muttered and began rummaging through the pressed clothes. "Armani or DKNY?"

He settled for the sleek black Armani, previously only worn once (when he had tried it on in the fitting room at the store.) He took a long shower and then dressed, surveying himself in the mirror. There was a knock at the door.

"Are you decent yet?" Came a voice.

James grinned and opened the door. "I'm afraid I am." He paused. "Wow."

"What?" Adrianna frowned at him.

She was wearing a floor length, strapless black and gold dress, paired with a diamond necklace and matching earrings. She had worn her hair long and straight, simple, yet stunning.

"You look—" James began.

"I know," she interrupted. "The diamonds were a bit much weren't they? Maybe I should have gone with the Dior after all."

"No." James laughed, shaking his head. "You look gorgeous."

Adrianna grinned. "Really? Well, you don't look half so bad yourself. Now, let's go enjoy this party, shall we?"

"I'm sure it will be quite memorable." James replied and offered her his arm as they headed off towards the elevator.

**- There you have it folks! Hope you enjoyed. Please Review! -**


	3. III

**III.**

The massive ballroom of the hotel was packed with hoards of richly dressed guests, swaying back and forth in clouds of cigarette smoke. It was luxuriously decorated with high ceilings, crystal chandeliers and detailed watercolour paintings. Adrianna led James towards a small corner of the room where they could survey the scene and go un-noticed.

"Elizabeth is serving drinks to your right." She said quietly. James nodded and glanced over at the blonde who was dressed in a dazzling red cocktail dress.

"Hugh is over there, with that group of men smoking cigars."

James looked over to see a very tall, well-built and excellently dressed man. He had brown hair and was unshaven, despite his lordly appearances. James heard him laugh loudly; he had a deep and friendly tone.

"Alright. Come introduce me." He said.

Adrianna steered him over towards the group of men. She gently touched Hugh's arm. He turned around and his face positively lit up when he saw her.

"Adrianna! You made it! Gentleman, this is the beautiful miss Adrianna Greene, a good friend of mine." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Adrianna giggled. James, despite himself, rolled his eyes.

"Wonderful to see you again." Adrianna said sweetly. "I'd like to meet my dear old friend Walter Clearwater. He's an old school mate of my brother Charlie's."

"I say, good to meet you chap." Hugh said boisterously and extended his hand.

"Pleasure." James replied and shook with a firm grip.

"Any friend of Adrianna is a friend of mines." Hugh beamed. "Oh yes, and these are several of my associates, Mr. Howard Brown, Terrence Smith and Reginald Cook."

The three other men mumbled and nodded their greetings.

"Also a pleasure Gentlemen." James said politely.

"Walter is in journalism." Adrianna continued, keeping her eyes fixed upon Bond. "He's traveling with me for the next few weeks until we meet up with Charlie in Germany. Anyways, Hugh, I heard about your firm's success with the company purchase. You must be so thrilled."

James shifted his weight back and forth on the balls of his feet. He was not in the mood to stand around while Adrianna flirted and giggled and drawled on about business deals. He had other ideas in mind.

"Excuse me." He said politely. "I'm going to go get a drink."

"Alright Walter." Adrianna smiled. "See you in a few." She stressed the word 'few' as an indication that he was not to wander to far.

James headed over to the other side of the room where Elizabeth Connelly was carrying flutes of champagne on a silver tray. She noticed him approaching and smiled.

"Champagne sir?"

"Yes please." James said and whisked up a flute of the bubbly liquid and downed it in a matter of seconds.

"Now," he said, placing the empty flute back on the tray. "How about a dance?"

The blonde cocked her eyebrows. "Alright," she replied. "Give me just a minute."

James winked at her and she headed off to get rid of her tray. He glanced over to see Adrianna glaring at him like a hawk. He gave her a little wave and smirked. Elizabeth returned a few moments later and James grabbed one of her hands and placed his arm around her waist.

"So, are you enjoying Vienna?" He asked conversationally, making point of dancing closer and closer to Adrianna who was now stroking Hugh's tie and laughing flirtatiously.

"It's not bad." The blonde replied. "I've been a little bored lately however."

"Well," James grinned. "We must do something about that."

The corners of her lips curled upwards. "I'd like that very much."

James twirled her around and took the opportunity to look back over at Adrianna who was ignoring him completely.

"However." Elizabeth continued. "I'm worried you're just using me to make her jealous." She gestured over towards Adrianna.

"Do you think it's working?" James mused.

"Hard to say." The blonde replied. "Does she think I'm pretty?"

"Who wouldn't think that?"

"Well then." She smiled coyly. "I'm sure it is to some extend."

The song ended and James bowed courteously and kissed her hand.

"Thank you for the dance." He said.

"Of course. Now," she whispered, moving very close to him and taking his hand. "Here's the key." James felt something cold and metal being pressed into the palm of his hand.

"See you later?" Elizabeth asked innocently as James turned to go.

"We'll see." James looked over his shoulder and smiled at her mysteriously.

He headed back over towards Adrianna and Hugh, swiping two more champagne flutes on the way.

"For you," he said graciously handed Adrianna the drink and then preceded to kiss her on the cheek. Adrianna looked at though she was going to shank him.

"There you are." She smiled tightly and then turned to Hugh. "Hugh, darling, do you mind if I excuse myself for a moment? I need to have a word with Walter."

"Of course." Hugh smiled and locked eyes with Bond, as if questioning his motives.

"Sorry." James said curtly. "I'll only steal her for a few minutes, then she's all yours."

He took her by the arm and guided her towards the glass doors that led out onto the moonlit terrace.

"He's still staring at me." James muttered into her ear.

"Well maybe he wouldn't be if you hadn't have stuck your lips on my cheek." She hissed violently as they stepped out into the cool night air.

"Sorry." James smirked, not looking the least bit sorry at all.

"Have you got it?" Adrianna sighed exasperatedly.

James jiggled the key in his pocket.

"Good." Adrianna said, absently adjusting her beautiful gown. "Now, I'll give Connelly the signal and then we can get this operation underway."

"Her name is Elizabeth." James pointed out.

"Whatever." Adrianna snapped. "Let's go back inside before Hugh starts to think we're doing more then just talking."

"Perhaps we should prove his theory right?" James grinned. He was thoroughly enjoying pissing her off.

She shot him a sulky expression and marched him back inside. Hugh looked very pleased that they had returned so soon, and made a point of putting his arm around Adrianna's waist when she slid up next to him.

"So Walter," Hugh said. "You write about the world. Your career must be positively fascinating."

"Ah yes." James coughed. "Considerably fascinating. Though, I'm afraid, no where as near exciting as the world of finance."

Hugh laughed. "Ah, you find business to be dull don't you Mr. Clearwater?"

"I'm afraid so." James smiled, eyeing up an approaching tray of martinis.

"What a shame." Hugh continued. "If you play your cards right in the business, it can be very exciting and rewarding."

"To be sure." James said, snatching a martini up off of the passing tray and raising his glass. "Cheers."

He slugged back the liquor. Adrianna gave him a little nod, a signal that the diversion would be put into play shortly.

Sure enough, Elizabeth came sauntering up a few moments later, careful to make very obvious eyes at James as she did so.

"Excuse me. Mr. Clancy? There is a call for you at the main desk."

"Very well." Hugh replied, straightening up. "I'll take it in my office."

"I'm afraid it's an outside line." Elizabeth replied, very convincingly. "The usher has asked you to come down to the lobby."

"Ah. I see. Very well. Excuse me gentlemen," Hugh nodded and then whispered something in Adrianna's ear that Bond could not hear. She giggled and then kissed him sweetly on the lips. James' eyes narrowed without his knowing it. Hugh excused himself and then headed out of the ballroom.

Adrianna quickly took cue and began to converse with the three other men. James tried to pay attention but failed rather drastically.

"Oh bugger." He said abruptly. They all turned to look at him. "I've left my watch upstairs. If you'll excuse me gentlemen, Adrianna."

"Walter is very forgetful at times." James heard Adrianna say to the men as he quickly hurried out of the ballroom and towards the elevator. Hugh's private offices were located on the 4th floor of the hotel. He pressed the golden embossed number four and waited patiently.

Unbeknownst to Adrianna, he was packing a gun on him tonight. Just in case. Bond was not one to take chances carelessly on his life. However, he was confident the office infiltration would be quick and simple. He glanced at his watch. He had at least a good solid fifteen minutes before Hugh's call would be ended, and he knew he would be anxious to return to Adrianna, especially if he was seeing Bond as competition. The only tricky part was going to be the cameras. Bond had gone over a detailed sketch that afternoon of the locations of all the cameras. He took out his blackberry and loaded a new application, one that was not featured on regular phones. It was a high vibrating frequency that should muddle the camera signals for a few minutes until he got into the safety of the office.

The doors pinged open and he stepped into the hallway, pressing the button on his phone as he did so. He glanced down at the screen, which told him it had been successful and quickly walked down the hallway towards large double doors at the end of it. He slid the key out of his pocket. Fifteen seconds until the cameras would move back into action. He swiftly unlocked the door and slid inside, shutting it quietly behind him. He turned to survey the office in front of him. To his surprise, the desk was in mass disarray, as though someone had gone pilfering through all the drawers carelessly. This puzzled James. He walked over to the desk and shuffled through a few of the papers. Business reports, finance stalks, pages upon pages of data and numbers. To James' further surprise, the computer screen was still on and several windows were open. This guy really was comfortable with the security of his own hotel. James carefully directed the mouse and examined the first open window. It was a plane booking website. James scanned the history to see any viewed locations but found none. The history was automatically erased. He noticed Hugh's email account was also opened. He clicked on this next and ran his eyes down the inbox to find sixteen messages from Trent Fargo.

"Bingo." He muttered under his breath. He clicked on the most recent one. Immediately, a box popped up asking for a password. James sighed, he had been afraid of this. He racked his brains for ideas and typed out a few, none of them working. He knew the computer would freeze if he guessed once more incorrectly and then Hugh would definitely know someone had been trying to hack his system. He pulled out his blackberry and dialed the first number on his speed dial.

"Bond?" M's voice came on the line.

"I need your best system hacker to get me the password to Hugh Clancy's computer." James said.

"Bond, if we do that, he'll be able to see that we've gone in there. We can't leave it without a trace, no matter how good we are."

"Do it anyways. By the time he notices, we'll be long gone from here."

He heard her sigh from the other end of the line.

"Alright. Sit tight Bond, it'll take a few moments."

He hung up the phone and decided to look around the rest of the office. Other then the messy desk, nothing else was out of order. A ding from the computer screen caused him to turn. M's hacker had done his work. The email popped open and James' eyes flew across the screen.

In the subject box was one word. 'Falcon.'

In the email, two words. Glasgow, Scotland. And a date, two days from the present day. It was enough. James rushed to hit the exit button but something caught his eye. Another email from Trent, with the subject box 'Dominic Greene.'

James froze. He ultimately been the cause of Dominic Greene's death only a few months prior. What the hell did Trent Fargo have in connection to Dominic Green and Quantum? He hurried to click the email, but a security warning popped up onto the screen that read 'Warning, security breech. Computer is shutting down.'

"Damn!" James swore loudly.

He had to get out of there and fast. He dashed out of the office, activating his frequency scrambler and stepped into the elevator. One thing was for sure; he and Adrianna were not going to be sticking around for the rest of the party.

**- Review! And I'll get James to dance for you! (Joking. Wish I could though.) -**

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I thought I'd save most of the action for the next one. Hopefully it's not going to slow and still peeking your interest, things should start to heat up in the next chapter and I keep getting good ideas. Stay tuned! Please review and let me know your thoughts!


	4. IV

**IV.**

Meanwhile, back in the ballroom, Hugh had returned from his phone call and Adrianna was working very hard to keep all of his attention focused on her. Flirting shamelessly with Hugh was in fact, a very simple task. To her delightful surprise, she had found Hugh to be insanely attractive at their first meeting, thus making her job all the more easier. He was tall, worked out at least five times a week and had brown eyes that could melt iron like butter.

At that very moment, she was babbling on to him about her lovely time in France, and how he really should come with her there some day when she noticed Bond walking very quickly towards her. She shot him a quizzical look, facially asking him if all was well. He shook his head violently and darted behind a cocktail waitress. Suddenly, Adrianna knew something was wrong. She looked again and Bond's blue eyes were almost frantic, yet his stance remained calm. He gestured to her silently. She nodded back.

At that exact moment, Hugh's cell phone went off.

"Excuse me just a moment." He smiled at her and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes. What? A security breach? Your sure?"

Adrianna's insides plummeted. They were in deep shit now. She hurriedly glanced over to Bond who now looked furious that she had not left yet. Hugh hung up the phone and turned to her.

"Spot of trouble up at the office I'm afraid. Probably all nonsense but never the less, protocol, I must see to it. If you'll excuse me for a few moments?"

"Of course." She smiled, trying to keep her cool.

He grinned back and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll hurry back as soon as I can." He whispered in her ear.

"Actually." Adrianna said. "I was thinking of calling it a night. I'm still a little jet lagged from the flight. I'll call you in the morning?"

"Of course. Get a good night's sleep." He replied gently and stroked her face.

From the other side of the room, Bond was growing very, very impatient.

"Come on." He muttered under his breath through gritted teeth.

Finally, Hugh departed and at once, Adrianna hurried over to Bond.

"What the hell happened?" She hissed, pulling him aside.

"We need to leave. I've already called the porter; he'll ship our luggage in the morning. Now, let's go."

He grabbed her arm and dragged her out to the terrace and quickly filled her in on the recent events.

"Dominic Greene?" Adrianna frowned as they descended the terrace steps onto the grounds. "What connection would Falcon have to Quantum?"

"Aside from the fact that they are both highly dangerous terrorist organizations? I literally have no idea." Bond replied as they walked quickly towards the parking lot. He pulled out the keys from his pocket. Aston Martin, courtesy of M. He unlocked the doors and slid into the front seat. By god, he loved that car. Adrianna quickly jumped into the passenger seat and Bond revved the engine, shifted gears and blew out of the parking lot.

"So where—" Adrianna asked as she struggled to remove her high heels with difficultly. "Are we going exactly?"

"Scotland." James replied. "Call M will you?" He tossed his blackberry to her. "Tell her we need to get on a flight immediately."

Adrianna yanked off her diamond necklace and earrings. "You could have at least grabbed me a change of clothes you know."

James rolled his eyes. "You can get some at the airport. Now make the call."

--

Meanwhile, up in the office Hugh was panicking.

"You're sure they hacked into the system? How is that even possible? My emails are all password protected."

"I'm sorry sir. But you shouldn't have left them open. Anyone who knew your password could easily have—"

"Nobody but me knows my password!" Hugh bellowed, slamming his fist down on the desk.

"Get my step brother on the phone immediately. Tell him that for the time being, Scotland has been compromised. And find out who the hell hacked into my computer!"

"Y-Yes sir. Right away sir."

Hugh slummed down in his chair, racking his brains. The security cameras had given him nothing. And besides, he knew all of his guests didn't he? None of them would dare to…

He started, suddenly realizing something for the first time.

"Erik!" He called.

"Yes Sir?"

"Run a background check on a Mr. Walter Clearwater from Oxford. Use the specialized system. Get back to me with results as quickly as you can."

"Certainly Mr. Clancy."

Another hotel working came rushing in with a phone.

"Mr. Fargo is on line four Mr. Clancy."

"Thank you."

He grabbed for the telephone.

"Trent? It's Hugh. Listen. We've got a small problem."

He glanced over at the screen where Erik was typing rapidly.

"No matches for Walter Clearwater in Oxford, sir."

Hugh gritted his teeth.

"Try Adrianna Greene."

--

Fifteen minutes later, James and Adrianna were running through the airport to get to there terminal. M had done her best, and managed to get them two seats on the midnight flight to Glasgow. Bond hurried to the desk just as the last passengers were making there way to the boarding tunnel.

"Hold the plane." He demanded. "We have tickets. They should be under the name Clearwater."

The airport employee glanced at the two of them suspiciously, Adrianna still in her ball gown, wearing a pair of running shoes and clutching a bag of clothes underneath her arm. And Bond, still in his tux, with his hair astray and his tie severely off center.

The employee tapped at her computer for a few moments and then sighed.

"Alright. Right this way please." She led them through the glass doors and towards a quick security check.

"Did you get any clothes for me?" James asked as the guard declared him clean and he stepped through the door.

"No. You're not the one wearing the dress." Adrianna replied and shoved past the guard, hurrying towards the doors that let out onto the runway.

By the time they were finally in their seats and off the ground, Bond let out a sigh, followed quickly by an order of scotch.

"I think Hugh has caught on." Adrianna said grimly as she opened up her cell phone. "Fourteen missed calls."

"Good." James smirked. "I hated being called Walter anyways."

"Well I guess so much for all my hard work." Adrianna snapped.

"You should thank me!" James exclaimed. "Now you get what you wanted in the first place. Running around the world after dangerous criminals."

She did not reply, but merely turned her head and looked out the window.

"No snappy comeback?" James teased. "I suppose I've made my point then. So enough with the sulking."

She turned around and shot him an icy glare but did not retort.

"So what's going on in Scotland?" She asked, as she stuffed her dress carelessly into a carry on bag and pulled her new black sweater over her head.

"That's where the next Falcon meeting is taking place, if I am correct in assuming."

"But why would Trent be inviting Hugh to the meeting? As far as I know Hugh has nothing to do with Falcon, aside from being related to Fargo."

"Perhaps dear old Hugh deceived you. You weren't growing fond of him, were you?"

"Fonder of him then your witty remarks." She grumbled.

"Cheer up Greene! You get to live life as a real double O now."

"Yes." She smiled tightly. "And I get to work with you. I must be blessed."

--

When they arrived in Scotland at four in the morning, it was relentlessly pouring rain. James hailed a cab and asked him to drop them off at the nearest hotel. They would have just enough time to sleep for a couple hours, call M and then lay a plan into action for tonight. Aside from Adrianna's terrible temper and their only luggage being a ball gown and James' wallet, things were going more or less all right.

The cab driver pulled into an old, crumbling hotel with red brick walls covered in ivy.

"Best on t' block." He said gruffly to James as he paid him with a fistful of bills. When they got inside, they discovered it was a busy little place, and very crowed.

"Two rooms please." Adrianna said curtly to the desk clerk.

"That won't be necessary." James cut in. "Just one."

Adrianna rolled her eyes and picked up the pen to sign the papers.

"What? My visa does have limits you know." He thanked the clerk and headed off towards the elevator, Adrianna followed him.

When they got in, James noticed she was being unbearably silent.

"What on earth is the matter with you?" He asked.

"Look, Bond." She snapped. "I know that you're enjoying and getting a kick out of this little partnership of ours but that doesn't necessarily mean that I am too."

James groaned. "Look, if your going to start guilt tripping me about Tuscany you should have done it days ago when I came to see you at the beach."

"This isn't about Tuscany!" She shouted, her face turning very red.

"No?" James hollered back, his temper getting the better of him. "You mean to tell me you don't give a damn about that at all? Your just being nasty to me for no reason?"

"My god!" Adrianna laughed. "You are unbelievable! It's like you want me to give you hell for it!"

"Go ahead!" James retorted. "I should damn well say I deserve it."

She did not reply. The doors opened and he glared at her, waiting for her to exit first. She did, and marched off down the hall with her back turned to him. He caught up to her.

"Well, say something." He demanded as they paused in front of the door.

"This is so childish." She snapped. "Look. I'm going to bed. You should too. When we wake up we'll pretend that this conversation didn't happen and stay focused on the mission. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." James growled and stalked into the bedroom. He yanked the comforter off of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Adrianna sighed, dropping her bag on the floor.

"Sleeping." He shot her a look of contempt and then stormed off to the coach on the other side of the room. He lay down and shut his eyes. He heard the door the bathroom slam shut followed by the noise of running water. He sighed heavily and rolled onto his side. It was going to be a very, very long mission.

--

**-Please Review!-**

**Author's Note: **Hmm, not sure if I like the way this chapter turned out of not. Meh. Let me know what your thinking. I know James is PMSing hardcore in this chapter bwaha and it's a tad out of character, But once I let you in on a bit more of what happened in Tuscany it shall all make sense. In due time! For a now, please review. I am debating on changing this chapter up a bit or not. Let me know your thoughts! Click that button! :D


	5. V

**V.**

James stirred uncomfortably in his sleep. He knew he was dreaming, for one thing, because he knew in reality water could never be that blue. And for another thing, Vesper was there. And he knew, Vesper was dead. She was. He had been there. He had watched her die. Watched the life slowly and painfully escaping from her eyes. He stirred again, trying to break from the dream. It was eerie and haunting. Vesper's face floating before him in the water; she was drowning all over again. And he could do nothing but watch.

He awoke with a jolt as he felt a cold and very real hand grip him.

"James!" A voice hissed in the dark.

He rolled in the covers, completely forgetting he had been sleeping on a couch, and toppled over onto the floor.

"Jesus Christ!" He swore loudly. "What the hell was that for?"

"James, I'm sorry to have disrupted your sleep but I think there is somebody out on our balcony."

James leapt up and made a grab for his gun, motioning for Adrianna to keep quiet. He inched over to the curtain-covered window. Without warning, the glass suddenly shattered into a million pieces and a dark figure came charging into the room, flinging their weight at James.

The gun went flying out of his hands, and James struggled to wrestle off his attacker.

"Grab the gun Greene, for god's sake!" James shouted.

But when he looked up Adrianna had already pulled back the safety of two guns and was pointing them at the intruder.

"Let him go." She demanded.

Quick as a flash, the attacker drew out his own gun and shoved the barrel into James' cheek.

"Drop it." Adrianna instructed.

"Or what?" Snarled the man in a heavy German accent, turning to look at her.

It was the split second that he needed. Bond smacked the gun out of his face and it immediately shot off, missing his foot by mere inches.

James then lunged at the mysterious man, gripping him in a chokehold against the wall.

"Who sent you here? How did you know where to find us?"

The man laughed manically.

James tightened his grip.

Adrianna picked up the two guns from the floor and tossed them aside.

"He wants to play hard to get." She smirked, raising an eyebrow. She strolled over towards them and then without warning, kicked the intruder straight in the groin. He howled in pain and struggled but James held him still.

"Ready to talk now?" James mused.

"We read your files." The man wheezed.

Adrianna shot James a look.

"Impossible." James said calmly.

The man laughed again. "Not exactly, 007. I know why you're here. I know that it was you who broke into Hugh Clancy's office looking for information on Falcon. And I've known that Miss Greene over there has been posing as a gold digging tramp for the past month and a half. If you want I could brief you on your whole M16 operation."

"Who the hell are you?" Adrianna demanded, raising her fist.

"Leave it." James warned her. "Go to the bathroom. Call M at once. Explain the situation, I'll have a few words with our friend here."

Adrianna stalked off. James loosened his grip and threw the man down on the bed to get a better look at him. He was pale, scruffy and built, with bulging pupils that made him look slightly crazed.

As the man caught his breath, James ripped off a curtain pull and tied the man's hands together behind his back.

"Now." He said. "You can make this very easy for yourself and tell me everything you know. Or, you could be a right bastard and make things very nasty for the both of us."

"Nien. Neither!" The man spat on the floor.

"No, that wasn't an option." James said impatiently. "I suggest you start talking."

"And I suggest you," the man panted, grinning at James with his crazy eyes. "Find someone with weaker faith to interrogate."

Without warning, he sprung up off the bed and ran through the pile of broken glass out onto the balcony. James charged after him but it was too late. The man flung his body over the rail and toppled off into the darkness. James heard a sickening thud as his body collided with the earth.

"James. We're not safe here." Adrianna said urgently as she came out of the bathroom. "M just called. James they've got Elizabeth. They hacked our system. They know everything about you, about me, hell about our entire M16 operation. We're not safe, M wants us to leave immediately and bring the hostage."

"I'm afraid we've got somewhat of a pressing problem." James said, feeling numb. "Our hostage just committed suicide off of our balcony."

--

A few minutes later they were roaring down the Scottish countryside in a very noticeable vintage red corvette.

"You would have to chose the most obvious car to steal." Adrianna growled, fiddling around with the stereo. "It's not like we weren't taboo enough already. We've got a trashed hotel room and a dead body underneath our balcony."

"Don't worry." James said as he gunned the accelerator. "M will send somebody to clean it up. And we'll get rid of this lovely automobile in the next town. It might put them off the chase of a little while."

"Them." Adrianna exclaimed. "We don't even know who 'them' is!"

"Falcon." James replied.

Adrianna scoffed. "That doesn't tell me much. I've been left in the dark about the whole organization."

"The entire agency of M16 is in the dark about them." James replied. "So you aren't alone."

"I expect as much explaining as you can possibly give me once we reach the safe house." Adrianna said stubbornly.

James nodded and sped up the car, every so often checking the rear view mirror for any signs of a tail.

It grew silent for a while and then Adrianna spoke, this time, in a softer voice.

"James." Adrianna said, looking at him. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

James hesitated to reply, his eyes fixed on the winding road in front of him.

"M told me all about what happened, about her…and well, I'm terribly sorry James."

"It's alright." He said quietly.

"It was wrong of me to snap at you last night. It was very unprofessional."

"Don't be sorry." James turned and gave her a small smile. He could see the sincerity in her green eyes. Strangely enough, all though she had mentioned Vesper, his thoughts were far from her now. Turning his eyes back to the road, he thought back to several years ago when Adrianna and him had worked together. Things were different then. She had been so young, wild, horribly tempered and fascinatingly beautiful. James snuck another glance at her and then smiled to himself. Who was he kidding? She hadn't changed one bit. And he liked that.

"Left up here." Adrianna said, navigating with the directions M had sent to her cell phone.

James veered the car down the turn off and sighed, trying to focus. They needed to regroup, and then get a move on with breaking down this case.

An hour or so later, they reached a small under populated town, which was proof that they were steadily making their way further north. They ditched the car in a nearby barn; some farmer would be getting quite a surprise when they went to collect the morning eggs. They walked around, looking for a vehicle that would be less conspicuous. They settled on a muddy looking jeep they found in a field, keys still inside.

James revved the engine and they took off, following the GPS single M had paged them that led to the safe house.

"I definitely liked the old car better." James grumbled as he tried to scrub a giant spot of mud off the windshield. Adrianna laughed.

"You know James, for a crabby agent you're not half bad company."

"Shut up Greene." He rolled his eyes, and they both smiled.

--

**Author's Note: **Meh, not my best. It's early in the morning and I am sleepless so please forgive me. I will probably end up re-writing the little attacker scene since I find it a tad weak. But I felt like I just HAD to update this! I havn't in ages. I hope you'll still continue to read. I promise my next update won't take as long. Please review!


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